By MOAA Staff

A long-sought floor vote in the House on legislation designed to end the “wounded veteran tax” faced by combat-injured military retirees edged closer Sept. 15 with the 218th signature on a discharge petition – enough to move a revamped version of the bill out of the House Rules Committee.

MOAA has supported all legislative avenues to move this long-sought fix forward, one that would allow these wounded warriors to receive both their earned military retirement pay and VA disability compensation without an unfair offset. This progress comes amid our ongoing fight on behalf of the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act, which not only offers relief to combat-injured retirees, but would provide long-sought benefits to other veterans, their caregivers, and their survivors.

[RELATED: Ask Your Lawmakers to Support the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act]

Understanding the Petition

The maneuver does not guarantee an immediate floor vote, but the new resolution (H.Res. 1247) could come to the floor after the House returns from its scheduled pre-election recess, which was set to begin a day earlier than anticipated.

The resolution expressly apples to “[t]he retired pay of an eligible combat-related disabled uniformed services retiree, who is retired under chapter 61 of this title with fewer than 20 years of creditable service,” which would cover the less than 60,000 combat-injured retirees targeted by the original legislation and address eligibility concerns raised by the Congressional Budget Office.

It is unclear whether the change will improve the bill’s chances in the Senate, where attempts to pass the standalone Star Act via unanimous consent have been rejected on multiple occasions.

Both the standalone Star Act and the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act will face a crowded legislative calendar in the remaining few months of the 119th Congress. Your voice will be critical to ensuring these and other MOAA priorities are not lost in the shuffle – register at our Legislative Action Center today to learn how your voice can make a difference.